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The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis is an opportunity to sum up your argument and express the significance of the patterns and techniques you found in the work you analyzed. A well-written conclusion will go beyond simply repeating and summarizing your analysis by showing the point of the technique deployed by the author or speaker. If the body of your rhetorical analysis explains how a rhetorical work achieved a particular effect, the conclusion is where you can step back to articulate why the writer or speaker chose that technique and what the effect accomplishes for his audience.

Step 1

Summarize what the work you analyzed accomplishes, such as persuading the audience to believe a certain idea or portraying a certain political party in an admirable or absurd light.

Step 2

Summarize how the work you analyzed accomplished its goal. For example, the author or speaker may have used evidence-based arguments illustrated with emotionally evocative personal anecdotes. If the work did not accomplish its goal, summarize why it failed or what you believe it could have done differently to succeed.

Step 3

Explain the significance of the work's rhetorical methods or purpose. For example, write about how you as a reader have changed because of a particularly effective technique the work employed. Alternatively, explain that a given technique, such as independent research or appeal to divine authority, was particularly appropriate for the author's time period and audience. Put the writer's argument in context to the rest of her life, for example, by demonstrating that the argument in the work you analyzed was an important statement of a theme that appears throughout her writings.

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About the Author

Benjamin Twist has worked as a writer, editor and consultant since 2007. He writes fiction and nonfiction for online and print publications, as well as offering one-on-one writing consultations and tutoring. Twist holds a Master of Arts in Bible exposition from Columbia International University.